MASH The Story of Hawkeye Pierce
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is the correct story. I am sorry about the confusion.


Hawkeye was a tall dark and handsome single doctor of just twenty-seven when he got his draft papers. He had just barely finished his residency when he was called to duty. Now he was not an unpatriotic man, but after over twenty years of hard work he had finally been able to start to make plans for his life. His father had made a lot of sacrifices so that his son could become a doctor and now he too was going to have to wait.  
His father Daniel and he were very close, and after the long years of schooling, he had planned to come back to Crabapple Cove and perhaps even marry his long time partner Carlye Breslin. Now, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce was drafted.  
Because of his status as a doctor, he was made an officer right away. He went through basic training like any other officer, and was not shocked to find out that his first assignment was to be at the 4077th a MASH unit located in the country of Korea. Of course, he had heard of the war, but when you are busy with life, it is not at the forefront of your mind. Now, he was headed to a war zone, danger, and hard work ahead.  
He was blessed with a two week leave before he was to go to Korea and he took the time to spend it with family and friends in his small town of Crabapple Cove, Maine. He had so many friends that had supported him through the years, and his dad was going to be alone again. He worried about his father, he was getting older and it was time that his son had settled down.  
When he went home he spent time with the girl that he had once intended to marry Carlye. It no longer was a consideration, since he was going to be gone for a minimum of one year. Hawkeye felt that it was in the better interest of her and him that they part ways. If the love was have meant to be she would still be there when he returned.  
The town through a huge party for him when he left and had bought him a lovely luggage set. His father had given him a sweater, the winters were very cold in Korea and his dad was sure that there would be times that his son would need it.  
The plane ride was long, with many stops. The first stop was in LA where he had no more time than to run to another airplane. His next stop would be in Hawaii, where he would be spending the night. This is where he and a friend that he had met on the plane went to the Pearl Harbor museum and they had played tribute.  
But that night Hawkeye went to the officer's club on base, and played hard. This was his last night before he was to be in Korea and he had planned to make the best of it. He being a man that could hold his liquor and knew when to stop had gotten very drunk and had become quite the ladies man by the end of the night.  
But, the next morning it was back to anothee eight hour plane ride to Tokyo. It was from there that he would be flown to Korea and then taken to the MASH unit to where he would be assigned.  
The ride on a military airplane was hardly a comfortable one, since the planes were made for freight delivery more than human and by the time that the plane landed Hawkeye was sore and very tired.  
Japan had looked much the same as he had expected and after a three night stay waiting orders, he was finally back on the way to Korea. He had found out the hard way that being in the army meant hurry up and wait all of the time. Even with the orders in his hands he had to still wait three days to get a flight over to the MASH unit. He found it odd that the plane would take that long to arrive as the word was that they were desperate for surgeons over there.  
He had done his residency in Boston, and had become a very talented surgeon. He had been taught by one of the best in the world, and he now knew that his skills would be tested, he just didn't know that those skills would be tried thousands and thousands of times over the next few years.  
When he arrived in Korea he found the place dirty and the place as cold as the many Maine winters that he had remembered as a child. He didn't know the language or the culture. It was a far cry from home for sure.  
The ride to the MASH unit was something that Hawkeye would always remember the ruts the dirt the dust and then the zigzagging that the jeep needed to do to avoid land mines. This was a war zone, dangerous cold wet and miserable.  
When he arrived at the camp he was amazed that this was a working surgical unit. There were no permanent buildings with tents lined up and down a dirty narrow little lane. The jeep took him to a small tent where he would make his home for the next few years.  
The inside of the tent was even worse than the outside. It had one outlet for electricity a cot for a bed, and a footlocker for your close. By the smell in there, he was sure that the other occupants didnt't work hard on bathing. There were clothes everywhere and old socks hanging on a rope that had been strung across the end of the tent.  
Hawkeye was still unpacking when the door opened, in came a tall major. He had curly hair and was well built. He did meet him with a handshake, but he did not appear over friendly. He went right over to his cot and went to sleep.  
It was soon after that the door opened again and this time a tall slender man about Hawkeyes age came in. He looked exhausted but had made his way over to the still that was right off to the side of the tent. This was Hawkeye's kind of man.  
After a few minutes of talking to his first friend,Trapper John, Hawkeye knew some of the work and difficulties that he would be facing. There was always a shortage of something, never enough medicine and the hours could go on for up to forty-eight at a time. There were the three surgeons in the tent and their commanding officer Henry Blake. Henry was a gifted surgeon himself and was a half way decent guy, according to Trapper John.  
Trapper John had been at surgery for the past ten hours and was headed back to his cot. He warned Hawkeye that sleep was a rare thing at the MASH unit and that he should get as much sleep as possible.  
Unfortunately for him he was too wired to sleep so he decided to take a walk around the unit and perhaps meet some of the people. He was on his way to the hospital when he ran into the commander of the post Henry Blake. He was a man in his late forties, who seemed to be quite friendly.  
Henry took Hawkeye over to the hospital. The hospital consisted of cots for beds, dirt for aa floor and staggered lights that depended on an undependable generator for electricity. Hawkeye noted that everyone carried a flashlight with them.  
It was there that Hawkeye met a major Houlihan. She was a pretty blonde in her thirties, but she was a lifer for sure. She was all army, she would be no fun.  
"She might be harsh, but her nursing skills are among the best." Henry Blake promised him.  
The next tent that they visited was the mess tent. They were met by the cook who had done his best to make a meal for the men and women of the 4077th. But, to say that the food was had no taste was being kind. The coffee was cold and the powdered milk floated on the top like a huge lump. There was no such thing as sugar for the coffee either. It was going to be a long cold and hungry war.  
Over lunch Hawkeye had the pleasure of meeting a man named Radar OReilly. He seemed to be the man that ran the unit. He did all the paper work and the assigning of men and woman on their daily chores. He also was the man to who you went to when you needed to have contact with the outside world. He always knew when there was incoming wounded either by radio or by a second sense. He was very young not more than nineteen and had come from the midwest, he didn't belong out here among all the blood and guts, he belonged home at college enjoying his life. Korea just wasn't a fair place to be kept.  
Hawkeye thought that he had seen everything when as he turned to go to his tent, he found a man walking down the path in a fancy dress. He was wearing a large hat and heels. His name was Maxwell Klinger, and he was bucking for a section 8. That was a rumored way for a serviceman to get out of the service. Henry promised Hawkeye that everyone was wise to his scheme and that it would never work. Klinger still had one year left in this god forgotten unit.  
By this time Hawkeye was feeling the time and had just taken a seat when the announcement came that there was incoming wounded. He could hear the choppers arriving and ran to the landing strip where he was met by a young man who had been critically wounded by a shot to the chest. He was losing too much blood and even though the corpsmen had done their best to prepare him for the ride to the MASH unit, he was in extremely critical condition, and needed to go to surgery immediately.  
This man was Dr. Pierce's first real test. He worked for over an hour and a half on the young solder,and with his skill the young man would survive and go on to live a long life. He had just finished with that patient when another patient was rolled in. Hawkeye had just enough time to change his gloves and it was off to have the misfortune of amputating three toes. The young man was only nineteen and had been stuck out in the freezing cold weather for days. Due to the lack of warm socks, he had developed frostbite that had led to gangrene.  
Hawkeye and the other doctors and nurses worked through the rest of the day. It was well past two am when he finally left and headed back to the swamp, or in other words back to the tent.  
Sleep didn't come easy to him as tired as he was he rocked back and forth on the cot, finally at about four am he fell asleep. He woke up at ten am to his roommate Frank Burns checking out his items. He had not been impressed with this man's surgical skills and he now knew that he really didn't like the idea of this man going through his items.  
"Can I help you?" Hawkeye asked Frnak.  
Frank turned around quickly surprised to have been caught. He had called his name several times and his new roommate had not answered. He didn't like this new surgeon, he was good and sassy. The nurses had seemed very interested in him and had flirted as they left the operating room that morning.  
" I am sorry I was just looking I wasn't going to take anything." Frank told him in a whinning tone.  
"It's ok Frank, just don't touch my stuff without my permission please." Hawkeye told him.  
Every morning Radar announced the duties of the day. He would announce what was being offered at the mess hall any movies that were playing at the mess tent that evening, and he also would try to keep up the soldiers with any news that he had from back home. Radar hoped that with the information the men and women of the MASH unit could keep their spirits up.  
Hawkeye and Pierce had just finished their breakfast when father Mulcahy returned from a local orphanage. He was a man with blonde hair and glasses and a very kind demeanor. "Trapper I am sorry to have to tell you of the problems of my orphans, but again they are so short on food and fuel, that they are near to freezing. Sister Emily has told me that they have less than seven days worth of food and fuel and no way to get any money.  
Hawkeye heard the plea from the priest and wondered. There must be something that he and the other men and women could do to help the orphans. Money wise he was strapped, with the leave that he had taken and the time of partying on his way to Korea, there would be no money for him until the first of the month ten days away. By the look on Trapper John's face Hawkeye knew that his friend didn't have anything either.  
Father Mulcahy had run out of options on his part also, he had begged for all of the money that he had received so far and his bishop had nothing left to give himself. They needed fuel, it was sometimes below zero in the area. Food was a necessity for everyone, what was he to do?  
He then found out that there were two people at the orphanage to help out a man named Ling and sister Emily. They took children in and out as parents and siblings were killed leaving them orphans. Sometimes the children would get a job at a local farm, and sometimes relatives would come to pick them up but most of the children would stay there until they were sixteen.  
Hawkeye and Pierce headed back to the swamp to think about the problem. They needed to raise the money and get the fuel and food quickly. It was there that they got the idea to raffle off a 50/50 chance. It was their hope that the winner would donate the funds to the orphans. They could hit up everyone in camp and all of the patients chopper fliers anyone that they could see.  
Unfortunately everyone was more than happy to donate to the cause but they all needed to wait until their check had arrived. Almost no one at the camp had any money, and the till that was in Henry Blake's office was just full of ious there was no money left. Radar made every call that he could think of and with much tadoo they were able to raise enough money for some food and a chord of wood. This would last the orphanage about a month, but they would be in the same bind come the next month. It was always a struggle in Korea for the locals and for the members of the armed services.  
"We need to help them get a more permanent solution" Hawkeye told the men that were standing around Henry Blake's desk. These children cannot go through this every month. There must be something that can be done. They need money." Hawkeye announced to the group.  
" I am open to any suggestions. We have tried everything. We hire the children to some work around the camp, but it is not enough money. There is always a need for more, and I cannot extend myself anymore." Henry offered.  
"What about the land that the orphanage is on? You say that they own over ten acres of land and it is near water. Could they sell any of the land? It could allow them to rebuild around their home and plant trees that later could be used for fuel. Also, what if they were to plant more items? We at the 4077th could help them with the planting and harvesting." Hawkeye asked.  
"The land belongs to the church. and it is not willing to sell." father Mulcahy told him with a sad voice.  
"They would allow children to starve and freeze rather than sell the land?" Hawkeye could not believe the church's stance. "What about renting the area? That too could help bring in the much needed money and supplies for the orphans."  
It seemed like the answer from the church was taking forever, but the church finally agreed to allow the orphanage to rent off some of it's land. But to who? Who would rent a war torn area with all the children running around this was going to take some work.  
It was then that Hawkeye had a brainstorm. The MASH unit was a mobile unit and the shells had been getting closer and closer to the camp according to the rest of the people. What if they rented the space? The United States government paid a good price for the use of the land now and it was only about half the size of the property that the orphans had to offer. Now this was going to be a big sell. He was going to have to convince Henry of the issue and get him on his side first. So, with that Hawkeeye and Trapper John decided to tell father Mulcahy and Radar first. They knew that it would take some real convincing to get Henry to call down to army headquarters and have him try to convince them that this was a good idea.  
As the four men approached Henry Blake's office, Henry saw them coming and had an uncontrollable urge to run. But where, these guys were going to find him no matter where he ran and all he needed was more crazy ideas. This guy Pierce was teaming up with Trapper John and he knew that the two were going to be come a dangerous combination.  
But this time he was ready for them. He had already contacted army headquarters and as he watched the four men walk into this office. He was negotiating with Ling and Sister Emily on the terms of their rental.  
"I know what you want and am involved in the negotiations right now." Henry said. "We could possibly be moving right to the orphans land on paper within the next two weeks. You see Ling just used his land as security and purchased this old plot of land from a friend. We stay here and the orphans stay at their home and nothing will change except for on paper." Henry smiled.  
It was the best news that anyone in the MASH 4077th could hear. They could still keep an eye on the children of the orphanage. Money would still be tight, but it did give them a steady income for as long as the MASH unit was needed. Life was hard but good here at the old 477 and Hawkeye had made his peace with himself.


End file.
